This is one blog tour that I didn't want to miss. I think My Sister's Bones will be one of the top books of 2017; it was absolutely impossible to put down and kept me riveted from start to finish. You can read my review here but for the blog tour I was so lucky to be given the opportunity to put some questions to the super-talented Nuala Ellwood about her wonderful debut, My Sister's Bones.
Q: My Sister's Bones is certainly
one of the best debut novels I have read and it is sure to be a big
hit in 2017. For anyone who hasn't read it yet, can you tell us a
little bit about it?
A: Thanks
so much for those kind words. I’m thrilled that you enjoyed My
Sister’s Bones. The novel tells the story of Kate Rafter, a
troubled war reporter, who returns from a harrowing experience in
Syria to her hometown on the Kent coast after the death of her
mother. On her first night back in the house she hears a scream. At
first she dismisses it as a nightmare, a manifestation of the PTSD
she has developed since the events in Syria. But then she hears it
again and this time she convinces herself that it is real. Has Kate
uncovered a dark secret hidden in the house and is she strong enough
to uncover the truth?
Q: What
inspired you to write My
Sister's Bones?
A: My
father was a journalist and his reports on the aftermath of the civil
war in Beirut really struck a chord with me when I was a child. I was
brought up around reporters and have always been fascinated by female
war correspondents such as Marie Colvin, Janine Di Giovanni and
Martha Gellhorn, not least for the way they made themselves heard in
such a male-dominated world and always sought the human story within
the chaos and horrors of war. When I set out to write My Sister’s
Bones I wanted to pay homage to these women. I also wanted to explore
the impact of war on the psyche of the reporter. In the course of my
research for the novel I looked into the link between PTSD and war
reporting and found that the subject had been woefully overlooked.
This inspired me to shape the character of Kate Rafter and to show,
through her experience in Syria, the traumas faced by war reporters
in their work and how this affects their mental state.
Q: Kate
is a war reporter in Syria. How did the events in Syria affect your
writing?
A: The
war in Syria has had a huge effect on the writing of this novel. As a
mother I have been extremely moved by the suffering of children
trapped in Aleppo and the desperation of their families as they try
to flee on flimsy boats towards hostility and uncertainty. As I
watched these horrific scenes unfold on my television screen all I
could think was that this could happen to any one of us at any time.
This inspired me to create the character of Nidal, the boy Kate meets
in Aleppo. Through him I wanted to tell the story of a little boy who
just wanted to play football, to go to school, to be safe. Simple
things that every child deserves.
Q: Have
you always wanted to write a book and how long did it take for My
Sister's Bones to go from
idea to publication?
A: Yes,
I’ve always wanted to write books. When I was a little girl I spent
all my spare time writing plays and stories and ploughing my way
through the books in my dad’s study. My parents introduced me to
literature and the power of the written word at an early age. Dad was
a journalist and I grew up listening to the sound of the typewriter
bashing out scripts to deadline. To me writing was as normal and
necessary as breathing. At first my writing came out song shaped –
I spent my teens putting bands together and writing songs and my
early twenties working as a session singer – but then after
completing an MA in Creative Writing I took the plunge and started to
write a novel. My Sister’s Bones required quite a lot of research
so it took around two years from coming up with the initial idea to
securing my publishing deal with Penguin.
Q: I've
always admired authors and their ability to portray their ideas in
such a way that captivates the reader. Do you have any writing tips
for budding authors?
A: Every
writer is different and there is no ‘one size fits all’ advice to
give to aspiring novelists. I have always been inspired by landscapes
and for me visiting Herne Bay, the place where My Sister’s Bones is
set, really helped bring the story to life. I spent a week there and
during that time I not only got to absorb the place, the people, the
atmosphere, the key locations, but I also had uninterrupted time to
write. I was lucky enough to secure funding from Arts Council England
for the research phase of the novel and this proved invaluable as I
could really immerse myself in both the subject matter and the
location of the novel. So my advice would be to create as much space
as you can for your writing, explore possible funding routes (the
Arts Council England website is a great starting point), book
yourself onto a writing retreat or a Creative Writing course. If this
isn’t possible then be selfish with your time and set aside a
portion of the day – first thing in the morning or in the evening
after work –that is dedicated wholly to writing. I wrote a lot of
the first draft of My Sister’s Bones in snatched moments in between
work and looking after my little boy. It can be exhausting but it’s
worth every second when you hold your finished novel in your hands.
Q: What
are your writing routines and where do you do most of your writing?
A: My
writing day starts around 9:30 a.m. when I return from dropping my
little boy off at school. We live by the river and the walk to school
follows the river path where, on any given day, we can see swans,
herons, geese and clusters of pretty canal boats. The lack of road
traffic and pollution really clears the head and prepares you for the
day. When I get back I’ll make a cup of coffee and take it up to my
desk that overlooks the river. The activity of the riverbank outside
my window seems to dictate my day as much as the clock. As soon as I
see the first of the pleasure boats sail past on its way to pick up
tourists from the city centre I know it’s time to get writing. I’ll
write until 1pm then stop for lunch, which is usually whatever I can
find in the fridge. If I want some fresh air and to escape from the
house I sometimes pop out to the café round the corner. Then it’s
back to the desk to edit whatever I’ve written in the morning. If
I’m doing the school pick up then I’ll stop at three. If not then
I’ll carry on until about five. I very rarely work in the evenings
unless I’m on a deadline or teaching a Creative Writing class at
the university. I use the evenings to catch up with my family around
the dinner table and then I’ll curl up to bed with a book.
Q: When
you aren't writing, what do you enjoy doing?
A: I love
music and singing. I used to be a session singer and still like to
unwind by sitting at the piano and playing for a few hours. I also
love going for long walks in the countryside. I live in York and am
lucky to have some of the most spectacular hill country right on my
doorstep. I grew up in the countryside and always feel better after
getting my hiking fix.
Q: Can
you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you started writing?
A: I live
with my husband Nick, an illustrator, my nine-year-old son Luke and
our eccentric but lovable cat Toby in a house by the river in York. I
have always loved writing but spent my teens and twenties writing
songs instead of novels. The change came when I decided to take an MA
in Creative Writing after we moved from London to York. Then two
years ago I secured Arts Council England funding to research a novel
based on a war reporter. That novel became My Sister’s Bones. When
it was signed up by Penguin last year in a two-book deal it was a
dream come true.
Q: I love
finishing a book and feeling the need to share it with the world and
I will definitely be recommending My Sister's Bones to everyone I
know. Do you have any favourite books or book recommendations?
A: Thank
you so much. You’re right. A lot of the books I have enjoyed
recently have come through word of mouth recommendations. I would
definitely recommend Grief is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter,
a beautifully written meditation on family, love and loss. I also
loved The Good Liar by Nicholas Searle. It’s a gripping thriller
with a truly shocking twist. If you like Patricia Highsmith and John
Le Carre then you’ll love this. I would also highly recommend
Rosamund Lupton’s The Quality of Silence, a wonderful literary
thriller set in the Alaskan Tundra where a woman and her young deaf
daughter appropriate a monster truck and set out to find her missing
husband in the depths of the Arctic winter.
Q: Congratulations
on signing a two book deal with Penguin Viking, I certainly can't
wait to read your next novel. Can you tell us what you're currently
working on and when we might be able to read it?
A: Thank you. It was an
absolute dream to sign with Penguin. I’m just working on my next
novel at the moment. It has the working title of Little Shadow and is
set between West Yorkshire and Switzerland. I can’t say too much
about it yet, only that it explores the subject of assisted suicide
and has an even more shocking twist than My Sister’s Bones!
Thank you so much to Nuala Ellwood for not only taking the time to answer my questions but for her honest and considered answers. If you haven't read My Sister's Bones yet, I strongly urge you to do so although it may keep you up all night as you can't put the book down once you start it!
Nuala Ellwood moved to London in her twenties to pursue a career as a singer-songwriter, but ended up writing novels instead. She comes from a family of journalists, and they inspired her to get Arts Council funding to research and write a novel dealing with psychological trauma in the industry. My Sister's Bones is her debut thriller.
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